Joe Adler

The federal banking agencies on Wednesday began an extensive effort — required by a law passed before the financial crisis — to gather feedback about which rules should be placed under the microscope for potential regulatory relief.

The addition of a new community bank section in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s quarterly bank earnings report is meant to make up for distortions in how large banks drive industry data.

WASHINGTON — Financial institutions are still feeling negative effects from last year's sudden rise in medium- and long-term interest rates, but plenty of signs in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s latest industry update continue to point to a lending resurgence soon.

WASHINGTON — Banks are still feeling negative effects from last year's sudden rise in medium- and long-term interest rates, but plenty of signs in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s latest industry update continue to point to a lending resurgence in the near future.

Banks are still feeling negative effects from last year's sudden rise in medium- and long-term interest rates, but plenty of signs in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s latest industry update continue to point to a lending resurgence in the near future.

WASHINGTON — Declines in mortgage-related revenue and trading income helped pull first-quarter earnings down 7.6% from the industry's profit a year earlier, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Wednesday.

The agency proposes its first fee increase in 20 years.

The congressional stalemate over how to restructure the housing finance system leaves several questions unanswered about other bank regulations currently in the pipeline.

The Justice Department likely hopes that Credit Suisse's guilty plea to a criminal charge will squash the idea that some large institutions are too important to the economy to prosecute. But experts say the issue is more complicated than that, arguing that the debate will live on. Here's why.

A new Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. report says agricultural lending by banks in areas with a declining customer base gave those institutions an advantage in weathering the downturn.

Though Vice Chairman Thomas Hoenig and board member Jeremiah Norton must defer to Chairman Martin Gruenberg on setting the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s agenda, the two directors have still found ways to affect policy, particularly on new capital rules for the biggest banks.

Elizabeth Warren is proposing to allow outstanding student loan borrowers to enjoy low rates by removing certain tax advantages for the wealthy.

WASHINGTON — Seven of the largest mortgage servicers say they have trimmed an average of $614 off monthly payments on over 16,000 loans as part of foreclosure prevention required by a regulatory settlement.

The Government Accountability Office urged the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Federal Reserve Board to monitor how servicers were carrying out foreclosure prevention steps in amended consent orders.

The OCC plans to increase examination fees for the first time in nearly 20 years for institutions with over $40 billion in assets, a step the agency says is necessary because of its expanded role under the Dodd-Frank Act.

WASHINGTON — The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency plans to raise supervisory assessments for large banks and thrifts by as much as 14% starting in the fall to account for the agency's added regulatory responsibilities following passage of the Dodd-Frank Act.

State regulators in South Carolina closed the $54 million-asset Allendale County Bank late Friday.

The issue of serving so-called "underbanked" borrowers has taken on a new urgency since regulators began cracking down on payday and certain other low-dollar, high-interest loans, prompting fears of a credit crunch for low-income consumers. The FDIC is looking at banking by mobile phone and other possible solutions as a way of bridging the gap.

An appeals court in California has ruled the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. must wait in line with everyone else for a share of tax refunds awarded to IndyMac Bank's parent company.

Regulators are clearly interested in crafting further reforms to Community Reinvestment Act policy following relatively minor changes last year. Here's a guide to what they may target.